CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN LEBANESE GLASS INDUSTRY

Abstract

Glass waste disposal is one of the main challenges that face humans nowadays because of its impact on the environment and the areas of the landfills. It is a non-biodegradable material. This problem and the deficit in the glass trade balance, and the difficulty of import or export nowadays in Lebanon tends to create a problem. The need to solve these problems pushes Lebanon toward glass recycling. The Lebanese glass industry should cut the amount of yearly glass waste, step closer toward self-sufficient, decrease trade balance in the glass industry, and reduce pollution. However, because there is no previous successful experience in Lebanon's glass recycling field, the whole process must be studied. Under the supervision of international expertise in the recycling field, in cooperation with Elite Glass Co., and following the cognitive analytics management framework, a linear programming model was created for optimizing the input of the raw materials that must be introduced in the recycling process under several technical constraints to produce new glass products. The final product alternatives were flat glass, bottle glass, and solar panel glass. The profitability of the projects was studied under the net present value (NPV) model.

The results showed that it is feasible to have a glass recycling manufacturer in Lebanon and suitable for all manufacturing sizes, which means that it is easy to enter the recycling field with the glass industry's support.